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"Locals dub this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, the air from his lungs creating wisps of condensation in the cold evening air. "Numerous people have disappeared here, many believe there's a gateway to a parallel world." This expert is leading a visitor on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval local woods on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of bizarre occurrences here extend back a long time – the forest is titled for a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the far-off times, along with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a unidentified flying object suspended above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he states, facing the traveler with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from worldwide, curious to experience the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is one of the world's premier destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, described as the Silicon Valley of the region – are expanding, and developers are campaigning for permission to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Barring a small area housing regionally uncommon specific tree species, the forest is not officially protected, but the guide believes that the initiative he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, motivating the local administrators to recognise the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

As twigs and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their footwear, Marius tells numerous local legends and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale describes a young child disappearing during a family outing, only to reappear five years later with no recollection of what had happened, having not aged a moment, her clothes shy of the smallest trace of dirt.
• More common reports describe smartphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Feelings vary from complete terror to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors claim noticing unusual marks on their arms, perceiving unseen murmurs through the woodland, or sense hands grabbing them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there are many things clearly observable that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are trees whose stems are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been suggested to account for the deformed trees: strong gales could have shaped the young trees, or inherently elevated electromagnetic fields in the soil cause their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have turned up inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's tours permit visitors to engage in a small-scale research of their own. When nearing the opening in the trees where Barnea captured his famous UFO images, he hands his guest an electromagnetic field detector which registers electromagnetic fields.

"We're venturing into the most active section of the forest," he comments. "See what you can find."

The vegetation immediately cease as we emerge into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this unusual opening is wild, not the creation of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

This part of Romania is a area which stirs the imagination, where the line is indistinct between fact and folklore. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing creatures, who emerge from tombs to terrorise regional populations.

The famous author's famous character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – appears tangible and comprehensible in contrast to these eerie woods, which seem to be, for factors related to radiation, environmental or purely mythical, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide states, "the division between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."